Improvement in discharging guns in revolving towers by electricity



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Dischargingfiuns by Electricity.

No. 35,847. Patented July 8, 1862.

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Discharging Guns by Electricity. No. 35,847. i Patented July 8. 186g.

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I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THE'ODORE R. TIMBY, OF WORCESTER, MASSAGHUSETTS.

1 IMPROVEMENT IN DISCHARGING GUNS N REVOLVING TOWERSv BY ELECTRICITY;

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,847, dated July 8, 1862.

To all whom itmay concemr Be it known that I, THEODORE-R. TIME-Y, of \Vorcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have'iuveute'd a Meth; 06. of Firing Guns by Electrical Agency, particularly applicable to .my revolving tower, to he placed on land or water for oiiensive or devi'ensivc warfare; and 1 do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear;, andexact description of the same,- reference being had to'the accompanying drawings, malrin' g a part of this specification, in which-- Figural is an elevation of the tower, showing the embrasures and .lookout; Fig. 2, a

vertical section of the same-and its operating mechanism; Fig. 3, a plan of a tier 'of guns, presenting also aview of the conducting-wires Fig.4, a;detsiled view of the conducting-and --platinuniwires,und'iiig. 5 aperspective-view. of the. bed plate .or 'found shaft, with its appendages. The nature of thy-invention consists, first? in arranging a telescopic or other sight or an index on the commanders platform (which is ation and central placed on the top of an iudependentlyrevolving shaft) in a-direct vertical plane ovens. circuit-closer or a series of. them, having metallic connection with a bar attached to, but insulated from, aid revolving shaft-,so that .the guns shall be discharged at the momenttheycome successively in the same vertical plane with the said sight or index by reason of 'coming in contact at that moment with a. second circuit-closer attached to, but insulated from, the revolving tower; second, in making --theindependently -revolving shaft which carries the revolving platform, in connection with the metallic structure of the tower, a part of the battery beingconnected with the shaftwhich carries the said. platform and the attached but insulated bar; fifth, in the'peculiur construction of the circuit-closers, whereby the circuit is closed and broken automatically; sixth, in the peculiar formation of the platinum wire which counnunicates fire to the vent of the .gun; seventh, in the arrangement of the conducting-wines, whereby,in connection with the l-plat-inum wire, the shaft, tower, bar, and circult-closers, the electrical circuit is completed.

-To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The tower A is constructed entirely of plates of iron or steel, or its walls may be lined or backed up with timber, and the whole together made of any desirable thickness. It revolves upon railway-tracks B B{ based upon strong castings or masonry, sunk in the ground sulficiently if aloud-fort, or placed about one-third the altitudeo'f the tower below the deck it used 7 upon water, around the hollow; pivotor shaft 0, fmc'tiomrollcrs a. a being interposed by means of ih'e'pinion.D-on the shaft 6',- whichmeshes with the large gear-wheel E. The shaft b extends a proper distance from under the tower to the engine or other motor, which in landforts is located in a bomb-proof vault.

The tower may or not have a dome, P; but I prefer, to use it in all cases.

Through thecenterofthetowerisconstructed the well B, through which and the hollow pivot or shaft 0 extends the vertical shaft G, stepped at c, (which step, as well as the pivot or shaft 0, is in metallic communication with the walls .the commanders platform H, which is surrounded by the curb I. The upper besringof this shaftG is found in the hollow shaft 0, againstwhich the collar J hears, which last notonly aflords an additional metallic communicatidn between the said shaft and the walls of the fort, but. serves as a step for the lower end of the shaft K, which is provided with the- -pinion-d,mesliing with the circuiar rack c and with the hand-wheel f on its upper end, above the, platform J], which platform serves as a bearing for the upper end of the said shaft K. On theplatform H is arranged the sight or index g, in the same horizontal plane with the lookout h and in a vertical plane directly over the circuit-closers 1. i, which -'are in metallic connection with the bar L, which is attached to (by-clamps jj',) but insulate from, (by the iusulating material 70,} the shaft G. Anothercondit-ion governing the arrangement of the sight or index is that it shall-be radiant to the cenof the tower,) and bearing upon its upper end' iral shaft, C, and as the guns 3! slide in and out, of hatlerynpon radial ways N, both the sight or index and guns may he brought into the same vertical plane.

Over the guns, and also radial l y, are :1 mm god thccondnctin g-wincsl I, the outer endsof which are attached to, but insulated from, the metallic structure of the wall of the tower, from which depend the wires 1: n, nietallically connected at their lower ends to the platinum wire 0, which is bent to an acute angle sulliciently sharp to penetrate the f use or vent of the gun. (See Fig. 4.) Of the inner ends of the condimting-wires I 1', that one, I, to which the circuit-closcr 1) is attached is insulated from the metallic structure of the tower, while the other, 1', has a metallic connection with it.

The circuit-closers, of which the hill L bears as many as the tower has tiers of guns, and the walls of the well F as many as there are guns in all the tiers, to which latter there are connected as many conducting and platinum wires 1 1', a n, and o, consist of metallic tap pets pivoted or hinged at their centers to the forked arms 1' r, as seen at; s s, and they are kept in their normal position by means of springs f. This allows the two series of circuit-closers to come in contact in the. revolution of the tower e: the central shaft, and to freely pass each other. Let us suppose, therefore, that a galvanic battery is on or under the platform ll, within the curb I, or'at some other convcn ientlocation, the guns aredisehargcd at the precise momentrequirc-d by electrical agency in thc'following manner: One of the poles of the battery is in permanent metallic connection with the shatt- G, and by this incansis in connection with the entire metallic structure of the tower. The other pole of thebattery is in connection with the bar L, which is insulated from the said shaft and tower by the described or any other suitable means.

The elcctriccircuit iscompleted atthe proper times through the conducting-wires l I whenever the circuit closers i p and i p come in contact.

As before described, the circuit-closers i and i are in metallic contact with the bar L, and the circuit'closers p and p are fixed to, butinsulatcd from, the metallic structure of the fort.

Thcconducting-wires l l inclosc in their circuit, by means of the wires 'n n, the acute-air glcd platinum wire 1., which, being inserted in the vent, is ignited, and tires the powder at each closing of the circuit. The branch lot the conducting-wires is in contact with the circuit-closer p, and insulated from the tower, and the bianch I is in metallic connection with I the tower.

The two branches 1 I being supported at their outer ends by a properly-insulated attachment t0 the walls of the tower, it will readily be seen that whenever, by the revolution of the tower or the central shaft, the two sets of circuit-closers are brought into contact the circuit of the battery 13 completed, the

current ,we may suppose, passing from one pole down through bar L, from eircuitelosers z" to closer p, thence along conductingdiranch l and a, through platinum \Yll'Q thence through it to branch I, to the metallic structure of the tower, and to the other pole of'the battery.

The connnander is furnished with an elcctri' cal switch or bra-lie, by means of which. he can at any time throw the battery out of connection with the tower or the bar L, one or both, as desired, so that, when the tower or central shaft revolves no electrical current can be established through the several circuit-closers as they come successively into contact; or means may he used to more circuit-closers i i out of the way of contact at such times.

' The switch or brake is not here described, as bcingan instrument well known to electricians.

The size of the platinum wire must be so adapted to the force of the electric current that no perceptible interval of time shall occur between the closing of the circuit and the full ignition of the wire.

3y the means thus described the commander of the tower, standing upon his platform, can bring the sight or index to bear upon any par ticular object or point, and there fix it by means of the hand-wheel f and shaft 1K, when all the guns of the tower will be successively discharged upon that object or point, as the tower revolves by electrical agency, care being taken by the gunners to insert the platinum wire in the vent of each piece as it; is loaded; or the tower being stationary, the commander can, by revolving the platform, discharge any gun in the tower in any direction by breaking and closing the circuit at the proper time.

Il'aving thus described my invention and pointed out the. manner in which it operates, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 18-

1. Arranging a telescopic or other sight or an index on a platform capable of revolving independently of the tower in a direct vertical plane over a circuit-closer or a series of them, having metallic connection with a bar attached to, but insulated from, said revolving shaft, as and for the purpose specified.

2. )Iakingtheindependently-revolvingshaft, in connection with the metallic structure of the tower, a part of the electric circuit, as do scribed.

3. Attaching to andinsulating from said revolving shaft 21- vertical bar revolving therewith, to which is metalicall attached one or a series of circuit-closers, and which forms another part of the electric circuit, as set forth.

4. Placing the battery on or under the commander's platform, so that it shall revolve therewith, the poles of the said battery being connected with the shaft which carries the said platform and the attached but; insulated bar, as and for the purpose described.

5. The described construction of the circuitclosers operated by springs, so as to be allowed to pass each other and then revert aubomat[-.. whereby, in conilection with file tower, the

cally to their original position.

6. 'I.he fogm and construction of the platinum wires, whereby the electric circuit is preserved and the vent. or fuse penetrated, asset forth.

7. The arrangement of the conducting-wires,

shaft, platinum wires, bar, and circuit-closers, the electrical circuit is completed, as described.

- THEODORE 1%.TIMBY. Witnesses:

W. MAYER, Emu. F. BROWN. 

